Umbrella.



WITNESSES: I Q 2% 0mm s L homs A. W. THOMAS.

UMBRELLA.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 17, 1909. RENEWED MAY 28, 1912.

1,031,974. Patented July 9, 1912.

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A. W. THOMAS.-

UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1909. RENEWED MAY 28, 1912.

1,031,974, Patented July 9, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

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WITNESSES llbllITFiD %TATE PATENT @FFIQE AMOS W. THOMAS, OERQCI-IESTEB,NEW YORK.

UMBRELLA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1912.

Application filed June 17, 1909, Serial No. 502,804. Renewed May 28,1912. Serial No. 700,352.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Airos W. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Rochester, county of Monroe, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Umbrellas, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates more particularly to a safety umbrella adaptedfor use in rainy and windy weather.

The primary object of the invention is to provide simple and efficientmeans whereby an umbrella may be made to permit the air which is adaptedto collect under the umbrella during windy weather to automaticallyescape therefrom and at the same time provide means whereby the rainwill be prevented from passing within the umbrella, thus not onlyprotecting the person using the article but also overcoming theobjections incident to the use of umbrellas as ordinarily constructedand which often turn inside-out in windy and stormy weather.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and efficientmeans which may be readily applied to the usual form of umbrella andwhich may be made to close with andform a part of the same.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinaftermore particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification, and will then be pointed out inthe claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of one form of umbrellaembodying my invention, showing the same while in use. Fig. 2 is a planview, partly broken away of the umbrella. Fig. 3 shows the umbrellaclosed. Fig. .1 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation ofthe device; and Fig. 5 shows an umbrella which may be used on vehicles.

The umbrella or device may have a rod 10 to which is held the body 11,and this body may be of cloth or fabric and held to the ribs so as to beopened and closed as is usual in umbrellas or parasols, and such partsmay be of any preferred construction.

A plurality of holes or openings 12 may be located near the centralportion of the body 11 near the rod 10 and these openings may besuitably reinforced, and attached to the rod 10 over the openings 12 isa device 13. This device may be provided with a thimble portion 14adapted to fit over the upper end of the rod and may be of the samefabric as the body 11 and somewhat smaller butof sufficient diameter tohave its outer edge extend beyond the openings 12 to entirely cover andprotect the same. The device 13 may have its body portion 15 providedwith a plurality of thin steel or other ribs 16, Fig. 4, which areadapted to hold the device 13 so that the outer edge will hug the body11 of the umbrella and said ribs 16 tend nor mally to force the deviceto a closed position.

As will be seen, if the wind is blowing the air will escape from underthe body 11 through the openings or exit 12 into the chamber under thedevice 13, and if the force of the wind is suflicient it will raise theouter edge of the device 13 enough to permit the air to escape, thussaid device forms a safety means to prevent the umbrella from beinginjured and will also serve as means to prevent the water from passinginto the openings 12 and will cause the same to be deflected and passover the body 11.

In Fig. 4, a guard 17 is provided which may be in the form of a ring andwhich may be secured at one edge to the body 11 in order that the outeredge of the guard may be free, so that the rain in windy weather cannotbe blown under the device 18 into the openings 12.

Fig. 5 shows a device which is particularly fit for trucks and othervehicles. The body 11 is held to the rod 10 in the usual way and hasopenings 12 as in the other construction and over the openings is atubular protecting device 18. This device 18 may be of any suitableconstruction and is adapted to permit the air which might collect underthe body 11 to pass through the openings 12 and out of the device 18.

It will be understood that the protecting means may be located withinthe umbrella body instead of on the outside thereof; and that the wordumbrella is intended to include parasols and similar devices.

From the foregoing it will be seen that simple and efiicient means areprovided whereby an umbrella or similar article is effectually preventedfrom being turned inside out as is often caused in articles of thisclass as ordinarily constructed; that simple means is provided forpermitting the automatic escape of the air from under the umbrella bodyand at the same time prevent the rain from passing within the body andthat said means may be applied to the umbrella or similar article asordinarily constructed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. An umbrella comprising a body portion having aplurality of openings therein, a rod passing through said body portion,a flexible covering connected to said rod and loosely resting on and incontact with said body portion when the umbrella is opened, and normallyclosing said openings substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination with an umbrella having a rod and a body providedwith a plurality of openings, of a device having a body portion attachedat its central point to said rod, said device tending normally to closesaid openings and the outer edge of said device contacting with the bodyof the umbrella beyond the openings but disconnected therefrom.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a body having airexits near the central part thereof a device covering said exits andpermitting the air to escape from within the body and a flexible ringsecured to said body at a point beyond said exits for preventing therain from entering the body from the top.

4. The combination with an umbrella having a rod and a body providedwith a plurality of openings near the central portion thereof, of adevice having a body portion provided with a thimble adapted to beattached to the rod so as to form a chamber above the openings andprovided with ribs tending normally to close said device and to causeits outer edge to hug the body of the umbrella beyond the openings, andan annular guard held at one edge to the body of the umbrella around theopenings.

5. The combination with an umbrella having a rod and a body providedwith a plurality of openings of a device having a body portion attachedto the rod and provided with ribs tending normally to close said deviceand to cause its outer edge to hug the body of the umbrella beyond theopenings, and an annular guard held at one edge to the body of theumbrella around the openings.

This specification signed and witnessed this 15th day of June A. D.1909.

AMOS W. THOMAS.

WVitnesses CLINTON N. QUINBY, LAVINA J. HAAG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, VlTashington, D. C.

